Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

When a simple woodcutter Jarl and his wife Frida have their ninth child, Frida is displeased that it is another girl. In fact she is so displeased that she doesn't even give the child a name. The child is simply called "pika" (Norwegian for girl) or "lass." One day her brother Askeladen comes running in with news that the fabled white reindeer has been spotted. Whoever catches this creature will be granted a wish of anything they want. When the lass finds the reindeer trapped in brambles, she isn't overcome with greed, instead she is overcome with compassion and frees the reindeer. When asked what her wish will be the lass picks one of the simplest wishes out there, a name. The reindeer whispers to her the most beautiful name and also bestows upon her the gift of speaking to animals. She loves her gift of speaking with animals, but never shares her beautiful name with anyone, not even her favorite brother Hans Peter. Then, during one of the worst snow storms ever, an isbjorn (a great white bear) tumbles into the lass's cottage and asks her to come stay with him in a palace for a year and a day. The lass is leery, but the bear promises her family great riches in return for her company. Not wanting to disappoint her family the lass agrees and sets of on a journey with the isbjorn and her faithful pet wolf Rollo. When the lass reaches the palace she is amazed. The palace is made of ice and she can tell it holds many secrets. The biggest secret is the identity of the man that comes and lays in bed with her every night. One night the lass is overcome by curiosity and looks at the mysterious sleeper. Little does she know this cost her the loss of her loved one. Determined to find her true love she travels east of the sun and west of the moon until she finds him. Will she get her love back, or will her efforts be in vain?

This was an amazing fairy tale. The book was very well written and the story line was awesome. I have never read the Norwegian fairy tale, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, that this book is based on, but nonetheless this was an amazing re-creation. I loved how the lass was such a simple character, yet she was so special. There were many mysteries intertwined into the book, which made it even more entrancing. If you can just imagine The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe mixed with The Princess Academy you've pretty much got Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow. I highly recommend this magical book to anyone looking for a great read. Bravo to Jessica Day George on a book very well written and a hard to forget story!

Violet On the Runway by Melissa Walker

Violet likes to think of herself as a wallflower. She's a senior who's never had a boyfriend and has a grand total of two friends. She just feels plain and ordinary. Nothing about her stands out, except for the fact that she is freakishly tall. So when a representitive from Tryst modeling agency asks her to fly up to New York for a consultation, she agrees. Little does she know that this decision will change her in so many ways. Violet's first trip to New York is a hit, in fact she booked for four shows during Fashion Week! She is overjoyed and is finally seeing herself as just a little bit out-of-the-ordinary. Fashion Week is a hit. Violet can't contain herself and when she walks down the runway she flashes a huge smile, which soon becomes her trademark. She does such a great job that she pushes her nemesis, Veronica, out of the prized closing slot of the show. As Fashion Week draws to an end, Violet rises to stardom. She's finally found a friend, and maybe even a boyfriend. Once Fashion Week finishes she relunctantly comes home to good, old Chapel Hill High School where she is profusely greeted, not just by her 2 best friends, but by the ever so popular BK (bees knees) girls. Violet is loving all the attention, but she let's what's really important slide. Thinking her modeling career has slowed down, Violet is shocked to hear that she is still hot in New York, and Tryst wants her to come live up in New York. After much persuasion her parents agree and Violet graduates high school early and packs her bags for the Big Apple. Busy schedules and sharing a one-bedroom apartment with four other girls, including Veronica, excites Violet at first, but will the spark soon die off.

This was an exceptionally good book. Violet is one of the most down-to-earth characters I've met. Yes, being a model can sometimes make her full of herself, but she seems like such a friendly and honest person. This story makes me realize that we all have our doubts. Whether it be if were good enough, pretty enough, or smart enough. I think Melissa Walker does a great job sharing the message that we all have our talents, and faults. Also that it is important for us to be nice to everyone, because we don't know their circumstances. I also loved all the fashion in the book. I myself am not a fashion-junkie, but I think it's fun to learn something new about pop culture. All the fashion lingo was fun to read and also I was allowed a sneak peak into the world of modelling. This a great book for any teen girl, especially one who has ever thought she was not good enough, but turns out to be superior!

Airman by Eoin Colfer

Conor Broekhart was born in a hot air-ballon thousands of feet up in the air. That is why his parents believe that he is so fascinated with the sky. It is Conor's life-long dream to fly. Being the son of King Nicholas' most trusted captain, Declan Broekhart, Conor becomes best of friends with Princess Isabella. One day while they are playing on the roof, the king's apartment goes up in flames. Seeing no way down, Conor jumps off the roof with Isabella, using the flag as a parachute. After the incident, Conor becomes one the king's most trusted friends. Once recovered from the accident Conor meets Victor Vigny, an acclaimed aeronaut. Victor is to be his teacher. Together they explore the science of flight, fencing, and many other useful subjects. All is wonderful in Conor's life, until he witnesses the murder of the king and his beloved teacher. The man behind the murder was Marshall Hugo Bonvilain, one of the most treacherous men to live. Bonvilain catches Conor "spying" on him and immediately disguises Conor as a soldier and throws him in jail, blaming him for the murder. Conor is sent to the Little Saltee islands to work in the diamond mines as a slave, with the thought in his mind that everyone he ever loved hates him. In reality everyone thinks that Conor is dead, which is the story that Bonvilain shared with them. Conor soon becomes one of the most powerful inmates on the island and soon realizes the only way to escape the island is to fly. Will Conor get out of Little Saltee alive? Will his dream of flying become a reality?

I had very, very high expectations for this book coming in and for the most part the book met all of them. The first half of the book was confusing to me because the book switches points of view quickly between paragraphs, and I had to take a couple double takes to fully understand who was talking. Once I got used to this though the book was really good. The story was like nothing I've read before and Eoin Colfer did an outstanding job creating the character of Conor. I really felt all of Conor's hardships and was rooting for him to succeed. This is a great rainy-day, curl up under the covers kind of book. I loved how Conor was the main character, but there was the theme of royalty in the background. Eoin Colfer created a great novel that I highly reccomend.

This is another book I decided to use for the Royalty Rules challenge!

Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner

Helen is the beautiful princess of Sparta, yet even as a young girl she never acts like your typical princess. While Aphrodite is her favorite goddess, she questions the authenticity of the gods. She would much rather learn the art of the sword with her older brothers than learn how to sew with her twin sister Clytemnestra. Instead of day dreaming about marriage, Helen's mind wanders to dreams of being a hero and fighting till the death. She understands that one day she is to be the Queen of Sparta, but has no interest in it at the present. Finally Helen gets the opportunity to go on a journey, not your typical heroic journey but a journey none the less. She and her brothers are to accompany Clytemnestra to Mykenae for her betrothal to Prince Tantalus. After the wedding feasts she is expected to go home, but then word comes that her mother's sister's kingdom, Calydon, is suffering from a menacing wild boar running around the kingdom. Her brothers know they must go help and Helen convinces them to take her with them - after all she hasn't seen her Aunt in a long while. While in Calydon Helen meets Atalanta, a girl determined to be a hero just like her. The only difference is Atalanta has a lot more experience and everyone knows of her dream of heroism, unlike Helen's whom no one except her brothers and mother know about. After a wild visit in Calydon, Helen's adventures take her to Delphi where she meets the Pythia who prophesizes about the future. What will her future behold? Will she go back to Sparta, or will she be able to realize her dreams?

What a wonderful book! Don't you just love the cover? Esther Friesner did an amazing job combining myth, history, and fiction into one awesome book. Helen is such strong character and knows what she wants. She won't be put down just because she is a girl, which is a characteristic that is phenomenal. Reading about Helen made me realize no matter who we are we can achieve what ever we want as long as we are persistent and believe in ourselves. I have always been a sucker for Greek mythology. Nobody's Princess not only takes the story of Helen, but also ties in tidbits from other myths like Jason and the Argonauts. I liked how these little tidbits were folded in and became part of the story. All in all this was a great book and would recommend it to any girl, or guy, but especially girls because of the feministic message. The sequel Nobody's Prize comes out in April and I am anxious to hear the adventures that Helen will go on next!

This is the first book I've read for the Royalty Rules challenge!!!

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

I read this book on Valentine's Day, which was the absolutely perfect day to read it. I actually bought the book right when it first came out, but had tucked it away until yesterday (on purpose!). It really shows the true meaning of love and is definitely not your typical romance book. Plus the cover looks irresistibly yummy....just like the book!

Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick are best of friends. Not the best friend that lasts one year of elementary school, but life long best friends. They are both social outcasts in elementary school and have no one except each other. Jennifer's father is long gone and her mom is always either at work or at nursing school. Cameron's parents don't seem to be in the picture at all. In a nutshell Cameron and Jennifer are in love. That is until Cameron disappears out of the blue and is not seen again. Jennifer is distraught and assumes that Cameron is dead.

The summer between 8th and 9th grade Jennifer re-invents herself. First her mother gets married to the perfect guy. This allows Jennifer to change her name and be gone with Jennifer Harris forever. She is now Jenna Vaughn and ready to make new friends. She's lost 25 pound, has great clothes, and has even snagged herself one of the most lust after boys in school. She is everything that she wished she could be and more. Her life is perfect up until Cameron makes a reappearance in her life.

When Cameron comes back he makes Jenna open all the doors she swore she had sealed forever. All of a sudden she is doubting herself and thinking that she is the same girl that people used to call "fattifier." Seeing Cameron again also brings back the dreaded memories of her ninth birthday when her Cameron experienced one of the most horrible things children can experience. Mixed with emotions Jenna starts to look at her present life with new eyes and sees that that her boyfriend isn't the right guy for her after all. She also learns tons about herself when Cameron comes back and continues to learn from him throughout her life.

This book is the perfect example of short and sweet. Usually short books are lacking that certain something that thicker books have, but not Sweethearts. It was one of the best love stories I have ever read. I remember reading something that Sara Zarr said about this not being a romance because its not mushy gushy love, but it's a love story because the characters work through their faults together and make each other feel special. This book captured me from the very first page and I was stunned at the end. For a short book (216 pages), it is definitely very powerful. The characters are so likeable and I couldn't get enough of the Jenna/Cameron relationship. Also the message was one of a kind and certainly one we all need to take to heart. Once again a great read and I would recommend it to anyone.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Gemma returns for another fantastical adventure. It is two months after Pippa's death and Gemma hasn't returned to the realms once. She is scared of what she will see and what she won't. At Spence the girls are gearing up for Christmas time and Gemma is extra excited because this is her first Christmas in England. Before they depart for Christmas break, Gemma takes Felicity and Ann into the realms. She is shocked to discover that the magic is running wild, instead of contained like she thought it would be. She soon discovers that Circe is after her and she won't rest until Gemma is dead. Gemma feels the same way as Circe and tries to figure out a plan to capture Circe. When Ms. Moore's replacement comes, Miss McCleathy, Gemma is convinced that she is up to no good. Soon Christmas is upon them and Gemma is home in London with her Grandmama, brother Tom, and alcoholic father. Amidst the dull weather Gemma finds the sun in Simon Middleton. Just a few years her senior, Simon enchants Gemma and it seems that she does the same for him. Felicity and Ann don't let Gemma forget about the realms over the holiday and they are often together. As Christmas draws nearer things in the realms start getting funky and time is running out for Gemma to find Circe. Many new characters are met that add to the mystery of the Order and some old characters are revisited and might not be who we all thought they were.

Please pour some cold water over me because I am still in shock from reading this book! It was amazing. It was all I could do to put the book down. Rebel Angels takes "page-turner" to a whole new level. There is absolutely no way that anyone could predict the ending. The twists and turns are endless and keep you guessing until you read the final sentence. This was a phenomenal book and I think I may like it more than I liked A Great and Terrible Beauty. Once again Libba Bray makes unforgettable characters and a wonderful storyline. I cannot wait to read what happens to Gemma next. I encourage everyone to read not only Rebel Angels, but A Great and Terrible Beauty as well.

Great Valentine's Day Contest

What could be a better way to celebrate Valentine's Day, but with books? All week the authors at Author2Author Blog are giving away books in honor of Valentine's Day. The contest is super easy, all you have to do is comment on their blog under the post that tells about that day's book giveaway. Easy enough, right? So just jump on over to their blog by clicking here and good luck!